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Police say driver "may not have realised" that Lincolnshire cyclist was pushed into railings

“Thankfully cuts and bruises repair and metal is replaceable,” says cyclist’s partner

Lincolnshire Police have launched an investigation after a Boston cyclist was forced into railings by a car. A Facebook post by the cyclist’s partner claims the driver left the scene. Police said the driver “may not have realised” what had happened.

Lincolnshire Live reports that a man was riding along John Adams Way on Tuesday morning when he was involved in a collision with a silver Honda Civic.

His partner wrote: “At about 11.20am this morning a car pushed my husband into railing on his push bike on John Adams Way at Eagles fish shop on the way to Vauxhall bridge coming home for lunch. Thankfully cuts and bruises repair and metal is replaceable.

“The car was a silver Honda Vivic that did not stop. My husband was in the railing with a twisted bike so couldn't get after them to see the registration.

“They never stopped [and] the police have been notified. Please let us or the police know if anything was witnessed.”

A Lincolnshire Police spokesperson said: “We believe a silver Honda Civic car may have been involved in the collision and we would like to speak with the driver who may not have realised this has happened.

“This happened on John Adams Way in Boston. The cyclist received minor injuries. Anyone with any information should call 101, quoting incident number 136 of January 15.”

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21 comments

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Bmblbzzz | 5 years ago
3 likes

Another function of those barriers (anti-personnel railings) is to "increase traffic flow" by making sure drivers don't have to stop for people to cross the street. This in turn treats the use of a site (which in this case has houses and a shop) for through-traffic as more important than the uses of the people actually doing things there (like living or shopping). 

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brooksby replied to Bmblbzzz | 5 years ago
1 like

Bmblbzzz wrote:

Another function of those barriers (anti-personnel railings) is to "increase traffic flow" by making sure drivers don't have to stop for people to cross the street. This in turn treats the use of a site (which in this case has houses and a shop) for through-traffic as more important than the uses of the people actually doing things there (like living or shopping). 

True. Isn’t that covered in one of those classifications of Road use that the Dutch use? Street vs Road, or something? Basically, is the road purely a through route or is it somewhere people go *to* and stop at?

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John Pitcock | 5 years ago
3 likes

I agree with arowland.
A driver would be looking to the right to see if it is clear to pull out. A  careless driver would not also look for a cyclist on his left. (I am an observer for the IAM and often remind my "pupils" to check mirrors for cyclists at junctions).
I agree the pedestrian barriers are a danger to cyclists.  They also restrict the freedom of pedestrians, and encourage drivers to assume the road is clear of soft targets.

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FluffyKittenofT... replied to John Pitcock | 5 years ago
2 likes

John Pitcock wrote:

I agree with arowland.
A driver would be looking to the right to see if it is clear to pull out. A  careless driver would not also look for a cyclist on his left. (I am an observer for the IAM and often remind my "pupils" to check mirrors for cyclists at junctions).
I agree the pedestrian barriers are a danger to cyclists.  They also restrict the freedom of pedestrians, and encourage drivers to assume the road is clear of soft targets.

 

When being a pedestrian I hate the way I have to clamber over those damn things to get out of the road after crossing it.  Not sure how making it harder to get out of the road is supposed to improve safety.  Road planners move in mysterious ways.

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burtthebike replied to FluffyKittenofTindalos | 5 years ago
1 like

FluffyKittenofTindalos wrote:

When being a pedestrian I hate the way I have to clamber over those damn things to get out of the road after crossing it.  Not sure how making it harder to get out of the road is supposed to improve safety.  Road planners move in mysterious ways.

Road planners are engineers and have a mechanistic way of looking at things, and think that putting up a barrier to force people to use the route they want them to take, works.  Like every other human system that ignores human nature, it is doomed to failure, and people choose whatever they perceive as best for them, even if it isn't and even if barriers are put in their way.

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Windy Cyclist | 5 years ago
0 likes

The police should leave the driver reassurance and excuse making to the CMPS - https://twitter.com/CrownServce 

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Zebulebu | 5 years ago
7 likes

Jolly nice of Lincs police to give the no doubt frantically worried motorist reassurance that their excuse for leaving the scene if an accident will be looked at sympathetically. They've practically given them a fucking defence for Christ's sake!

I know I shouldn't read these, because it makes me angry - but I'm really, really getting fucking sick of it

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jh27 replied to Zebulebu | 5 years ago
0 likes

Zebulebu wrote:

Jolly nice of Lincs police to give the no doubt frantically worried motorist reassurance that their excuse for leaving the scene if an accident will be looked at sympathetically. They've practically given them a fucking defence for Christ's sake! I know I shouldn't read these, because it makes me angry - but I'm really, really getting fucking sick of it

 

Maybe it's their idea of a trap?  Going out and finding the driver is unlikely to yield any result (especially as they are unlikely to go out and look for the driver) - so offering tea and sympathy (and maybe even a couple of biscuits) has got to be better than doing nothing.

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Pilot Pete replied to jh27 | 5 years ago
1 like

jh27 wrote:

Zebulebu wrote:

Jolly nice of Lincs police to give the no doubt frantically worried motorist reassurance that their excuse for leaving the scene if an accident will be looked at sympathetically. They've practically given them a fucking defence for Christ's sake! I know I shouldn't read these, because it makes me angry - but I'm really, really getting fucking sick of it

 

Maybe it's their idea of a trap?  Going out and finding the driver is unlikely to yield any result (especially as they are unlikely to go out and look for the driver) - so offering tea and sympathy (and maybe even a couple of biscuits) has got to be better than doing nothing.

Not a great tactic though really is it? If the driver came forward, they would then just claim they had no idea the incident had happened. Then what? Without any independent witnesses to verify either party’s story then I assume nothing would be done.

This is the main reason many cyclists now have video cameras, at least then there is some evidence. Having said that it appears that many police forces still just say ‘not enough evidence of any wrong doing’ and don’t take it further.

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burtthebike | 5 years ago
9 likes

"A man was riding along John Adams Way in Boston yesterday morning, Tuesday, January 15, when he was involved in a collision with a silver Honda Civic just after 11.30am." 

No.  A man was riding along John Adams Way yesterday and was struck by a dangerously driven car.  The paper should stop using language which implies that it was the cyclist's fault.  And there is no way that driver did not know that they had struck something, but being the average callous driver, indifferent to the lives of other people, they just drove off.  Scum.
 

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brooksby replied to burtthebike | 5 years ago
2 likes

burtthebike wrote:

"A man was riding along John Adams Way in Boston yesterday morning, Tuesday, January 15, when he was involved in a collision with a silver Honda Civic just after 11.30am." 

No.  A man was riding along John Adams Way yesterday and was struck by a dangerously driven car.  The paper should stop using language which implies that it was the cyclist's fault.  And there is no way that driver did not know that they had struck something, but being the average callous driver, indifferent to the lives of other people, they just drove off.  Scum.
 

Maybe the driver thought the cyclist was a deer? Or one of Gail Purcell's flying sacks of potatoes??

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Hirsute replied to brooksby | 5 years ago
2 likes
brooksby wrote:

burtthebike wrote:

"A man was riding along John Adams Way in Boston yesterday morning, Tuesday, January 15, when he was involved in a collision with a silver Honda Civic just after 11.30am." 

No.  A man was riding along John Adams Way yesterday and was struck by a dangerously driven car.  The paper should stop using language which implies that it was the cyclist's fault.  And there is no way that driver did not know that they had struck something, but being the average callous driver, indifferent to the lives of other people, they just drove off.  Scum.
 

Maybe the driver thought the cyclist was a deer?

Isn't that what prince Philip said about his prang?

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Hirsute | 5 years ago
7 likes

Driving standards are so shite that the average expected level of competence means something like this is the norm.

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Hirsute | 5 years ago
3 likes

Why are the police making excuses?
Was the car deemed to be a lorry?

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arowland | 5 years ago
8 likes

Mistakes happen. This is a classic example of non-forgiving infrastructure. The cyclist has nowhere to go and gets crushed. A bad situation is made worse by poor design -- in this case, railings probably intended to keep pedestrians safe from vehicles -- which could also have been achieved by separating cycles from motor vehicles with a lane that would also protect pedestrians. As David Hembrow says,

"Infrastructure... should also be designed to take into account that human error is inevitable and therefore to reduce the likely consequences of error."

Here, the street width is used for multiple car lanes, and where it narrows -- precisely where the collision occurred -- traffic is encouraged to speed by very relaxed geometry, i.e. a sweeping curve off the dual carriageway into the side street. Cyclists should not be integrated into a motorised traffic flow at the most dangerous point but should be protected until taken beyond it, or the pinch point designed out some other way, e.g. introducing traffic from the dual carriageway earlier so there is room for cyclists to get into position to take the lane. We can blame an inattentive driver, but the fact is, the junction is designed purely for cars and caused the situation to arise, and once it had, it made it worse by ensuring that the cyclist in injured against the railings rather than being able to escape onto the pavement.

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growingvegtables replied to arowland | 5 years ago
6 likes

arowland wrote:

Mistakes happen.

No, they don't.

  • The infrastructure design is NOT a mistake - it's rank incompetence.   And should be culpable.
  • IF the driver was "inattentive", that's NOT a "mistake";  it's beyond incompetence.  She/he should hand in his/her licence, in the interests of public safety.  
  • Or was it a DGAF driver?  That is NOT a "mistake".  Lock the b*****d up; take away his/her licence.    

 

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OnTheRopes | 5 years ago
6 likes

the driver “may not have realised” what had happened.

I wonder had it been a policeman on a close pass initiative, would they be asking that question?

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brooksby | 5 years ago
9 likes

Quote:

the driver “may not have realised” what had happened

Yeah, right...  

@Lincs Police, I've got a bridge to sell you if you're interested?

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flathunt replied to brooksby | 5 years ago
0 likes

brooksby wrote:

Yeah, right...  

@Lincs Police, I've got a bridge to sell you if you're interested?

 

It'll go nicely with the "Vauxhall Bridge" someone already flogged them.

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I love my bike | 5 years ago
10 likes

I'm confused; isn't it cyclists who cause accidents (because they don't have to pass a test) and just ride off & cannot be caught because they don't have number plates?

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hawkinspeter | 5 years ago
12 likes

I don't know what worse - paying so little attention that you don't realise that you've hit someone or knowing what you've done and scarpering.

Glad to hear the cyclist got away with only minor injuries.

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